


Lifesize

by Mogoona3000



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Fix-it because I miss Tony even if I've come to terms with the Thing happening, Fluff and a horrible attempt at comedy, Gen, Irondad & Spiderson, Ironfam rights, Morgan and Peter are the cutest, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Pepper Potts Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Peter Parker Gets a Hug, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-23
Updated: 2019-09-23
Packaged: 2020-10-26 08:31:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20739293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mogoona3000/pseuds/Mogoona3000
Summary: Morgan’s little fists are shaking in front of her, grasping at nothing. She quickly moves aside as Tony is now standing directly in front of the tent. Morgan's small jumps where she is standing are overflowing with anticipation. Pepper stands next to her as Tony eyes the tent in front of him, newspaper in hand.“Alright, little miss," he says with a breath, looking down at her, "what’s the drill? How do you want us to handle this?”“All the tea party guests have to survive.”“10-4. Pep,” he says as he looks up at her, “you ready?”“Oh, no. You’ve got this one.”Tony stares at her for a moment, his deadpan expression way funnier than it should be.--Morgan tells Tony there's a spider in her tent. Newspapers, surprises, and uncontrollable laughter ensues.





	Lifesize

**Author's Note:**

> Guys, I read this post from sugar-salt-n-spice on Tumblr and so, here I am showing you what I saw when I read it.

“It’s alright, kid. I get it. College life and all that.” 

Pepper enters the living room at the sound of Tony’s deflated tone, Morgan’s school supplies sprawled in her arms. 

“I’m sorry, Mr. Stark. I’ll be there next weekend though,” Peter’s voice responds over the loudspeakers. Pepper wears a frown as she stands next to Tony. He shakes his head when he looks her way, his disappointment clear on his face. With a wave of his hand, he moves the holograms of what looks like the Spider-Man suit to occupy just the right side of the table. He steps by Pepper after, helping her set the supplies on her arms by the space he opened for her.

“Oh, no! You’re not coming?”

“Oh, hey Ms. Potts—I—no. I won’t be able to make it tomorrow. But I’ll be there next weekend! We can celebrate then, right?”

“My birthday isn’t next weekend,” Pepper hears Tony say under his breath, grabbing his mug of coffee and bringing it to his lips as he walks back towards the holograms once he’s done helping Pepper.

“Aw, how come? I was so excited to see you!”

Pepper places her palms on the edge of the table, slightly leaning over and paying close attention to Peter’s words as she stares at the contact picture Tony has for him. It’s the same picture Tony decided to have framed, the one Peter managed to capture after the paintball fight he had with Morgan to celebrate his acceptance into MIT. Morgan’s face is splattered with all sorts of colors; her cheeks are blown up, like two small multi-colored water balloons. Peter’s cheek is to hers as he has even more colors spotted all over his face, his hair sticking to his forehead with a mixture of red, blue and yellow. His face sports a broad put-on smile, all teeth showing and eyes closed. It was the selfie of the century per Tony’s words. 

“I’m a bit behind on my final projects, but this is the last week. I just can’t miss the deadline that was already extended for me.”

“We understand, Peter. We’ll miss you, though,” Pepper says, her eyes back to Tony as he has FRIDAY run diagnostics on the additions he created, his prosthetic hand casually tugged in the front pocket of his jeans. 

Pepper was looking forward to having Peter at the lakehouse for a few days after classes were over, especially for Tony’s birthday tomorrow. But Pepper doesn’t say anything else, just silently shares her disappointment with Tony.

“I’ll miss you guys too! Mr. Stark, you there?”

“Yeah, kid. I’m here.”

“I really am sorry.”

Tony sets his mug down as Pepper goes around the table, separating the newspapers from the paper mache. 

“I hear you, Pete. No harm done. Next weekend, then?”

“Definitely.”

“Alright, but if you flake on me again, I’m not letting you play with Gerald anymore.”

Pepper snorts softly with a shake of her head as she cleans the nozzle of the glue bottle and makes sure the glitter Morgan requested is sealed tight until it is needed. Peter’s gasp is full of mirth as he says that he'll "be there, Mr. Stark!"

Tony’s disbelieving hum makes him stumble on what he says next. 

“I _promise_, Mr. Stark. I will _be_ there. Don’t take away the Gerald time. He’s my favorite.”

“I’ll be sure to tell Morgan you said that.”

“What—No! You know what I mean!” 

Tony’s eyes don’t leave the screens as he shakes his head and gives Peter another disbelieving hum, his hands moving left and right, discarding and rebuilding on the Iron Spider suit. After a few more words exchanged between them, Tony ends the call. 

“I miss him too,” Pepper says as she walks over to him. She stands in front of him, running her hand gently through his hair. She likes that he’s letting it grow a bit more. She was always a fan of the long dark curls. 

“He better show,” he quietly says, the hurt in his voice present. “I mean it. I’ll tell Morgan—” but Tony gets interrupted by Morgan’s urgent little steps as she rushes inside the house, the screen door slamming against the wall while she shouts, “daddy! Daddy, daddy!” 

Her hair is in disarray as she comes into view, hurriedly fixing her sweater that falls off her shoulders as she stands right in front of her dad, who with a wave of his hand and a simple call to FRIDAY, shuts down the screens he was working on.

“Daddy, come! Hurry! There’s a spider in my tent!” She looks at Pepper then, her eyes wide as she talks with her hands flying everywhere, just like Peter when he’s excited or nervous—or both. “It’s huge, mommy! Come on, hurry!” 

Slightly out of breath and already rushing towards the door, she waves them over as she looks over her shoulder. 

“Slow down, sweetie!” Pepper calls after her, but she hears her small and rushed steps already fading with every stomp on the grass outside. Pepper then looks at Tony with a knowing smirk on her lips. 

“Any chance is just a dust bunny?” he asks as he grabs the newspaper from the pile of supplies on the table and rolls it in his hands. 

Pepper snorts as she follows behind him and out of the house.

“Madam secretary needs this job done. Arachnophobia be damned," she begins to say, moving by his side as they walk down the porch steps. "Which it should be, may I add. You know, considering we have a very real spiderkid,” she finishes, walking now side by side with him, putting her arm around his waist. There's no real rush in their steps as they head in the direction of Morgan's tent.

The month of May has been pleasant, Pepper has noticed. This morning, just like every other since Spring made its entrance, is still a bit chilly; the sun rays always illuminate the place in the most wondersome way, warming everything up by lunchtime.

“Remind me again why you’re coming?” Tony glances at her with no real hostility in his tone, a feigned questioning look in his eyes.

“Because I want to be sure you don’t use her as a scapegoat.”

The look of indignation he gives Pepper makes her laugh out loud, dropping her head forward as Tony holds her hand between his.

“I wouldn’t—I’m so hurt you’d even—wow,” he sputters, trying to defend himself as they see Morgan standing in front of her tent, jittery and yelling for the two to hurry up.

“March 3rd, 2020, Mr. Stark,” she concludes, gently poking him in between his eyebrows with her finger. 

“Are you ever gonna let that go, Ms. Potts?”

“Mm, no.” She shakes her head, her eyes on Morgan as they reach the tent. 

Morgan’s little fists are shaking in front of her, grasping at nothing. She quickly moves aside as Tony is now standing directly in front of the tent. Morgan's small jumps where she is standing are overflowing with anticipation. Pepper stands next to her as Tony eyes the tent in front of him, newspaper in hand.

“Alright, little miss," he says with a breath, looking down at her, "what’s the drill? How do you want us to handle this?”

“All the tea party guests have to survive.”

“10-4. Pep,” he says as he looks up at her, “you ready?”

“Oh, no. You’ve got this one.”

Tony stares at her for a moment, blinking twice, his deadpan expression way funnier than it should be. Pepper tries not to laugh but her snickering betrays her. Morgan moves toward the tent and holds open the right side as she stands far to the side, as if afraid of the spider being right at the entrance and getting her. 

“Okay, go,” she designates, looking Tony straight in his eyes.

Right as Morgan says that, Peter jumps out of the tent with a loud “surprise!” causing Pepper and Tony to jump back a step. Unlike Pepper who just stands with her hands over her mouth in complete shock, Tony’s arms lock in position to strike whatever is in front of him, holding the rolled-up newspaper like a sword. 

"Jesus Christ,” he breathes as he puts his hands down, newspaper still in hand. Morgan is giggling and jumping next to Pepper, clapping her hands and shouting surprise over and over. 

Pepper lets out a breathless laugh in her shock and hugs a laughing Peter Parker, telling him how happy she is to see him. Morgan’s laughter is bright and contagious, though it’s only affecting Peter and Pepper. When she pulls away from the hug, Tony takes a single, slow stride towards Peter, now standing in front of him. Peter does nothing but cautiously smile as his shoulders slowly start to creep up towards his neck. 

Tony whacks Peter on the head with the newspaper, wearing the most deadpan expression on his face.

“Ow!” Peter chuckles out, rubbing his head as Pepper sighs with a grin on her lips and picks up a very amused Morgan. 

“Told you he was gonna be upset,” Morgan says between her laughter.

“I missed you too, Mr. Stark,” Peter says as he tries to go in for a hug, but Tony moves away just in time to not get caught while trying to smack Peter into relenting his attempt at touching him.

Pepper and Morgan are laughing, watching them run around until Peter finally catches up to Tony, the older man’s arms down and trapped in the embrace. Tony tries to whack Peter on his legs with the newspaper but Pepper reaches for it, dropping it at her feet. Peter wears the biggest, most satisfied smile as he settles against Tony’s chest with his eyes closed, crouched enough for his head to be under Tony’s chin. 

“Get—kid, let go right now.”

“Hmmm..no.”

Pepper has to set Morgan down, who is laughing so hard she stumbles down to the grass, her little shoulders shaking with amusement. Pepper can’t contain her laughter as she looks at her little girl, squirming from glee on the ground. 

“I have to get the spider, Pep. Hand me the newspaper. Come on.”

“Oh, stop it, Mr. Stark. Just embrace the loveeeeee.”

Pepper has to cover her mouth to muffle her own laughter because Tony is trying to do the same when Peter shakes him a little bit in his hold. The kid chuckles when he opens his eyes and looks at Morgan on the ground who is trying to breathe from her laughing fit

“Peter.”

“Say you forgive me first,” Peter evenly offers, “and then I’ll let go.”

Pepper crosses her arms against her chest as she watches their interaction. She knows as much as Tony fights all the attention and affection he's receiving from Peter, he is genuinely enjoying it. It makes her chest swell at everything happening around her. Resting had never felt so delightful.

“So you admit you’ve been neglecting your duties on this side of town?”

“You know what I’m talking about.” 

Tony huffs a breath and rolls his eyes at Peter’s words, asking, “what’s that exactly, kid? Enlighten me.”

“You’re gonna make me say it?”

“Let go.”

“Forgive me right now!”

“Forgive him, daddy. He didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”

Tony looks down at Morgan when she speaks, his eyes always soft and loving for her. Pepper doesn’t say anything as she watches Morgan sit on the grass with the bottom of her feet touching each other, her hands loosely holding them. 

“This spider, little miss, is a naughty spider who likes to break hearts and make daddy upset. This spider deserves to be smacked again a few times.”

“Nooooo,” Peter whines and hugs Tony tighter with the same satisfied smile, like a contented cat enjoying the warmth. 

“Peter, let go.”

“Forgiveness.”

“Fine.”

“'Fine' what?”

“Kid.”

“‘I forgive you, Peter.’ Say it. Come on, I hadda pretend I wasn’t coming so that the surprise would be effective, right Morgs?”

Morgan, calmer but eyes glistening with joy, nods, wholeheartedly agreeing with Peter. 

“When did you get here, Pete?”

Peter looks at Pepper when she asks, everyone bypassing the fact that he has Iron Man trapped in a hug. 

“A few minutes before I called. I saw Morgan outside, planned the surprise with her, and now I’m stuck giving a hug to Mr. Stark until he forgives me.”

“Makes sense,” Pepper evenly agrees and gives Tony a shrug when he narrows his eyes at her, lips slightly parted in his look of betrayal. 

“Pep. Really?”

“Forgiveness, Mr. Stark. Simple. Ms. Potts doesn’t have to be involved in this.”

Tony rolls his eyes again, no malice or annoyance in the action, no matter how hard he tries to pretend he isn’t enjoying the moment. 

“I forgive you.”

“Like you mean it.”

“Peter!” But Peter is wearing him out if the chuckle escaping Tony as he says Peter’s name is any indication.

“Like you mean it, or here we shall stay. Right, Morgan?” Peter’s eyes glance at Morgan, who gives a single nod and a firm “right!” in return. Peter nods once in approval of her response, and shuts his eyes again, back to his hug. Pepper’s smile doesn’t relent and her cheeks are starting to hurt.

“I forgive you.”

“What’s that?” Pepper questions, straining her ear towards them. Tony snaps his head towards her, eyes narrowed at her once again. She loves being the cause behind that expression, especially with the kids involved. “Did you hear daddy, Morgan?”

“Nuh-uh.”

“_Madam secretary! _ What is this!”

Morgan all but smiles at Tony’s words, shaking her head at him, assuring Pepper she did not hear anything. 

“Come on, Mr. Stark.”

Tony takes a deep breath and then says, “I forgive you, Pete. I forgive you.”

"Morgan, should I let go? You think he means it?" Peter asks, his eyes looking down at her.

"Yeah, he means it. I can tell," Morgan concludes, completely convinced. She looks so adorable, Pepper’s heart melts at the sight. 

Peter stands straight, letting go of Tony and looking at him with a real smile on his face. Pepper and Morgan approach them, hugging Peter at the same time as Tony walks over to grab the newspaper from where Pepper dropped it. He picks it up, while Peter crouches down to talk to Morgan, laughing and shaking her little arms as they congratulate each other on _Operation Spider Surprise_. Pepper ruffles Peter’s hair as he stands back up with Morgan’s little hand in his. Pepper begins asking Peter about his classes when Tony whacks Peter on the head one more time. 

“Okay, _now_ I forgive you.”

Morgan laughs again in the middle of her shocked gasp, and it causes a ripple effect amongst the adults when they hear her, Tony’s laugh sounding the brightest of them all when he looks her way and picks her up. Pepper covers her face with her palms, unable to mask her giggling as Tony begins to tickle Morgan as a punishment for conspiring against him. She wipes a few tears from laughing so hard, putting her arm around Peter’s shoulders, who gives her a warm side-hug in return. 

“It is really good to see you, Peter.”

He smiles up at Pepper’s words, wearing the same joy Morgan wears in her eyes.

"It's really good to be here," he softly responds, hugging her a bit tighter this time. They watch Tony tickle Morgan until she finally squeezes from his hold and stumbles in laughter onto the ground again.

—

After feeding Gerald and having to threaten Peter and Morgan with no playtime if they don’t wash up for lunch and leave the alpaca alone, the Starks and their honorary family member are sitting on the deck and enjoying the very pleasant Saturday afternoon. They are all ready to help Morgan, waiting for her to return from her tent with the rest of the things she needs to start her project. While they wait, Peter is standing up, demonstrating Tony the moment his MIT adventures with Harley went south when he went to visit. He tells Tony and Pepper about the story with his friends, MJ, jars of honey, ten brand new pillows, and the new camera May got him. Tony’s head falls back from laughter, and Pepper shakes her head with a broad grin on her lips as she drops her forehead in her palm. 

“You’re telling Rhodey this story when he comes for dinner tomorrow,” Tony states, wiping tears from his eyes as he tries to take a deep breath to subdue his laughter.

The sound of Morgan’s rushed and urgent steps makes Pepper lift her head and look out towards the tent. She sees Morgan running towards the porch with the white piece of cardboard tugged under her arm, though the grip isn’t secured as it looks like it’s slipping from under her hold. In the other hand, the markers in a ziplock bag are secured in a tight hold between her fingers. Peter meets her half way up the porch steps while Tony tells Morgan to slow down, making sure she’s alright while sitting up on his chair. When Peter sets the materials down on his chair, Morgan looks between the three of them as Peter crouches down in front of her. She’s slightly out of breath, her eyes blown as she hurriedly fixes her sweater that’s falling off her shoulders.

“Okay,” she starts, labored breathing and eyes on Peter as she continues, “there’s an _ actual _ spider in my tent now!”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you v much for stopping by and reading! <3000  
Talk to me in the comments!
> 
> Title comes from the song Lifesize by a Fine Frenzy. I thought it very fitting if ya ask me.
> 
> I don't know if you can tell but I have a Thing for a joyful and happy Iron fam. All the laughter, all the joy, all the silliness. Always. 
> 
> Link to the post this was based on will be on my Tumblr--@mogoona3000. If you can't find it, message me and I'll gladly give you the link to it. 
> 
> You can always message me on tumblr if you'd like to yell, chat, be friends or just scream about Mr. Stark Iron Man sir.
> 
> Go be happy.


End file.
